One Piece: Path of Kings
by Kkunzie
Summary: What would happen if Luffy didn't eat the gomu gomu no mi, or any fruit for that matter? What would happen if an absentee grandfather wasn't so absent? A slightly stronger overall crew, smarter Luffy. Dark themes; ranging from torture to sexual assault. Lemon in later chapters as well. Luffy/Nami/Vivi pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece; the characters, world, and story are all property of Eiichiro Oda and Shonen Jump.**

"Hey"= speech

'Hey'= thoughts

 **"What"= Non-Human speech**

 **'What'= Non-Human thought**

 **Gumo Gumo No Pistol= Attack**

For nearly a decade after the death of the Pirate King, the world was thrown into chaos. Thousands of pirates took to the seas driven by Rodgers dying words; raping, pillaging, and seaching for the great One Piece. It was all the Marines could do to keep even the semblance of order as the war against the pirate menace raged on in earnest. But in the pursuit of absolute justice, marines and their like seem to differ little from their plundering counterparts. And during this time of great uncertainty the World Government will not suffer a new enemy no matter how small or perceived.

 **Holy Land Mariejois; Gorosei's meeting room** **.**

"The plan is in motion." said the tall man with blonde hair and beard. "Riley and the boy will die. And it will look like just another battle between marines and pirate."

"It had better..." sighed a bald man in a long white gee and glasses. "We can't afford to have this blow back on us. If word gets out that we had a hand in this, thousands will flock to his cause."

"Where is Garp right now?" asked the man with a long white mustache and a dark liver spot decorating his bald head.

"He is currently being held up by the Ward pirates. Even if he receives a distress signal, he will not make it in time." announced a tall man with long white beard and a haircut to match.

"We have Cypher Pol on standby, with orders to eliminate any survivors." said a man with a long jagged scar tracing the side of his face. "We should receive confirmation of success by tomorrow."

"We will reconvene at five pm tomorrow." The bald man in the gee declared. With a murmur of agreement, the men began to disburse.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter1**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece; the characters, world, and story are all property of Eiichiro Oda and Shonen Jump.**

 **The Grand Line, 7km from the Calm Belt.**

"Commander on deck!" Shouted a marine, calling all to attention.

"At ease. Where are they?" Asked a woman with long red hair, wearing a marine officer's jacket with the kajin for justice scribed on the back.

"Two kilometers to our stern, and gaining. They'll be on us within the hour." The marine in the crow's nest called out.

The woman walked over to the railing on the stern of the ship. A man wearing a similar coat; handed her a telescope. "Fuck!" she hissed under her breath as she stared at the two ships flying the Jolly Roger. "Why now. Any other time and I would be more than happy to fight you all."

"Richard King (570million), Brandon "The Rhino" Grey (420million), and Alexander "The Streak" Horn (450million)." The man said with a sigh. " This isn't going to be easy. For them to team up, they want something."

"Yeah, but it's the what..." The woman said as she stole a glance back at her cabin "or the whom that scares me. I mean why else would the team up on us?"

The man reached out and gently touched her arm in a reassuring gesture. "Listen. You should take the kid and get as far away as possible. The rest of the men and I will hold them off."

She smiled shaking her head as she grabbed his hand. "Come on Jacobs, you know me better than that."

"Yeah I do, but I was hoping you would be willing to listen. You know with kid being involved and all."

"No that just means I have to fight four times as hard." She said, flexing her arm and grabbing her bicep.

Jacobs gave a chuckle as he looked her over. She was a tall woman with long red hair bundled into a pony tail that stopped at her waist. She had narrow; heart-shaped face with high cheekbones that gave her dimples and an almost constant smiling expression. Her light blue eyes were soft and reassuring, complementing her smile perfectly. The only blemish that marred her beautiful face was that of a stitch work scar, tracing from just under her left eye to the edge of her brow. Other than her coat she wore a form fitting dark blue suit with a white button up collared shirt, left open exposing a great deal of cleavage from her well-endowed bosom.

"I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Riley D. Carter is scary when you're not threatening her kid." Jacobs said.

Riley beamed at him. "So "Singing Sword". Which one do you want?" Riley asked chuckling at his reaction to his epithet.

"Please don't call me that, I've always hated that nick name." He said as he started stroking his chin in thought. "I'll take Alexander, you know swords men and all."

Riley smiled "Guess that leaves me with King and the Rhino." She turned around just in time to catch a passing marine by the collar. "Get those snails singing and send out an S.O.S to any nearby marines. Let me know who's close and how far out. "The marine saluted and ran off.

She looked over at her friend and colleague of the past nine years. Jacobs was nearly a foot taller than her five five stature. His height along with broad shoulders and a square jaw gave him a very dominating presence. He wore his shoulder length black hair slicked back all save two strands that served to frame his square face. Along with his officer's jacket he wore a white suit with a black shirt and red tie. At his hip, he had glinting silver cutlass that seemed to glow in the pale moon light.

Jacobs met her and she nodded. "Everyone battle stations." Jacobs ordered. "Hopefully someone is close enough to help."

"You worry too much, and besides this is going to be fun." Riley said as she cracked her knuckles.

 **40 km away; on Garp's ship.**

"Vice Admiral Garp!" Garp turned to the sound of his name, dropping the beaten and broken pirate from his grasp.

Garp responded with a lazy "Eeh?" as he casually picked his nose with his pinky.

"Sir, we received a distress signal from the WGM Red Moon." The marine said. "They are under siege by pirates."

Garp's face immediately hardened. "How far away are we."

"Too far away to make it in time if we sail. Go I'll take care of things here." said a tall man in a gray suit and bolo hat.

"Thanks Bogart. Make your way over there as soon as you're done here, there are sure to be wounded." Garp ordered as he grabbed several cannon balls.

Bogart nodded. "Good luck."

Garp smiled at him before jumping in the air and shouting Geppo as he kicked the air. The kick compressed the air into a pressure wall that rocketed him forward. Garp grit his teeth and kicked harder as he followed the movements of the little white paper in his hand.

"Hold on." Garp whispered through gritted teeth.

Bogart turned around to look at the broken pirate. "Mr. Johnathan Tyler Ward (417million). You are hereby under arrest for; the suspicion of piracy, multiple counts of murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, conspiracy to commit murder, manslaughter, rape, assault, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, grand larceny, drunk and disorderly conduct, and loitering. That last one ell get cha." Bogart gave him a knowing smile before turning to the rest of the marines. "Get them below deck, and get this ship moving."

 **WGM Red Moon**

Riley caught a cannon ball; that was aimed for the deck, and quickly lobbed it back. The cannon ball collided with the face of one of the Grey pirates, and exploded.

"Bullseye!" Riley shouted pumping her fists.

"Watch out!" Jacobs screamed as he slashed through a cannon ball aimed at her. The two halves zoomed past her as they skimmed the deck before landing in the water.

"Thanks. You know I'm getting tired of this shit, let's just fight already. " Riley said with a pout.

"My thoughts exactly." came a deep voice, just before the deck erupted in splinters sending marines flying in every direction. Once the dust settled, a giant of a man could be seen at the site of impact. Two horns were growing out his nose as it slowly began to elongate and form his muzzle. His skin began to turn gray and leathery. After his transformation was complete he looked like a cross between a rhinoceros and large muscular human.

"Now which one of you is Ril-. Uuurrk!" Grey didn't get the chance to finish, before a fist was buried in his stomach. He recovered just in time to see the haymaker collide with his face. The strike had enough force to send the giant man tumbling for several yards across the deck.

"Now that's what I'm talking about! Finally, someone I can hit." Riley said with a maniacal smile. "Come on Grey that better not be all you've got, if it is then this going to be boring."

With a grunt, he pushed himself to his feet. Grey snorted as he raked the deck with his right foot. With a roar, he charged at her. Riley's smile grew even wider as she coated her right arm in a black sheen of haki and returned the charge. Her fist collided with his horn. The resulting shock wave sent marines and pirates alike sprawling across the deck.

 **Jacobs vs Alexander**

Jacobs turned back to look at the oncoming ships just in time to see Alexander leap from the bow of his ship. He landed next to Jacobs with a flourish of his blade. The streak left behind by the blade reflecting the moons light, paying homage to his name sake.

"Aah, Jacobs. How long has it been since our last encounter?" Alexander asked in a suave manner.

"Not long enough. I was hoping we wouldn't see each other until after we were done, what with secret missions and all." Jacobs retorted as he dropped into a stance.

"Righto' back to work then, I have orders you know." He said as he thrust forward with his rapier.

"Orders? Don't tell me you are taking orders from King now." Jacobs questioned as he side stepped the thrust and swung out horizontally.

"Oh gods no. I would never take orders from that buffoon." Alexander exclaimed easily parrying, and using the momentum to thrust forward once again. Jacobs tried his best to dodge but still caught the slim blade in the shoulder.

"No we are just working together for the time being." Alexander whipped the blade up, forcing Jacobs to spin away to avoid his face being slashed. "I guess I could tell you what we are up to. I mean one way or another one of use is not walking out of here alive. If I win you won't tell anyone, and if you win well it won't much matter to a dead man." Alexander stopped his assault and stared at Jacobs watching for his reaction.

"Well? I don't got all day what with this and all." Jacobs said gesturing to the battle that raged on around them.

"Oh very well then. You see Mr. King, Ward, Grey, and myself were hired to eliminate some key personnel on this ship." Alexander said as he glanced at the woman currently throwing a rhinoceros against the main mast. An almost quizzical look came across his face as he looked around. "Would you do me the honor of telling me were the boy is hidden."

A look of realization mixed with dread came across Jacob's face. He took a gulp of air and licked his lips before asking. "Who hired you?"

Alexander flashed him an evil grin. "Those sneaky men in the black suits. Cyprus...Cyrus-. Ooh what devil was their name again?"

"Cypher Pol." Jacobs breathed out slowly. Sweat began to build up along his hair line and on the back of his neck.

"That's it." Alexander announced dropping back into his fighting pose. "Unfortunately the instructions are very specific... No witness."

 **3 km away, Cypher Pol Ship.**

"Benedict, you need to hear this." A man with a black suit, shades, and top hat said as he held out his arm with a wrist mounted interception snail on it. Benedict looked up at the man and nodded. With that the man pushed a button on the side of the snail, it eyes immediately opened and began to speak.

"Zzzzt-ed Moon requesting immed-zzzt. Repeat WGM Red Moon zzzzzzzzzzzzzt. We are unde-zzzt pirates, and don't know how long we ca-zzzt out. There is a-zzzt onboard, repeat there is a child zzzt." The snail went quite for a moment.

"Were we able to scrambled it before anyone else heard it?" Benedict asked in a low voice.

The man in black gulped before shaking his head and pushing the button again.

"WGM Red Moon, this is the WGM Mad Dog. Do you read? Vice Admiral Garp is on his way and we are two hours behind. Hold out for as long as you can. I repeat help is on the way." The snail cut out again, this time closing it eyes.

With a snarl Benedict hauled the man in black off his feet, holding him by his collar several inches off the ground. "You were supposed to make sure they couldn't call for help."

"I tried, but Garp finished off the Ward pirates a lot faster than we anticipated!" The man said fear racking his voice.

Benedict sighed as he put the man back on his feet. A look of relief came across the man's face, just before Benedict index finger through the man's throat. The man fell deck grasping at the hole, and gasping for air.

"The Gorosei will not accept failure!" Shouted Benedict as he looked at the writhing man. "And neither will I." He announced as he kicked the man over the side of the ship. "Now get this piece of shit moving. Remember no survivors."

 **WGM Red Moon, Riley vs Grey.**

Riley dropped into a boxing stance. Her hand and feet were covered in a black sheen of haki. Other than a couple of bruises she looked relatively unhurt. Grey on the other hand was bleeding from his mouth and nose, he could no longer open his right eye. His longest horn chipped and broken, and dark purple bruises covered his muzzle and torso.

Riley dashed forward and slammed her fist into Grey's muzzle. The force of the blow caused him to reel back, but he was able to lash out with his arm catching her below the ribs. Both combatants staggered backwards. Riley was the first to recover and charge. She smashed her fist into his already destroyed right eye, and followed it up with a bone shattering uppercut. The uppercut hit him so hard it lifted the massive man off his feet. Before his feet had the chance to touch the deck again, Riley roundhouse kicked him so hard it sent him skimming across the deck to smash into the side railing. The impact destroyed the railing creating a cloud of dust.

For a long moment Riley watched the cloud for any signs of movement, when suddenly the hulking figure burst through. Riley braced herself for the impact, but Grey changed direction mid charge. His new destination the captain's cabin.

"Shit" Riley hissed as she moved to intercept the monster of a man. In her hast to catch Grey, she didn't sense the change in his movements. And when she got within range Grey whipped his head around, his horn pierced her midsection.

"Grahahaha. Dumb bitch, you told me exactly where he is." he raised his head and jostled her forcing the horn in deeper. "And now you can't stop me."

Realization flashed across her face, but it was quickly replaced by unstoppable fury. With all the strength, she could muster, she slammed her fists into both sides of Grey's face. A resounding crack followed by a screech of pain could be heard across the deck. Grey collapsed to his knees, two new gashes along the sides of his face adding to his collective of brutal injuries.

As soon as her feet touched solid ground, she removed herself from Grey's horn and un-ceremoniously broke a long section of the horn free. In a very cold and brutal fashion she returned the appendage. She stabbed the horn up through his chin to have the rest emerge from the top of his skull.

"Nobody threatens my baby." Riley growled dropping Grey's monstrous form to the deck.

She watched for a moment waiting for any signs of life from the giant. When Grey made no indication, he was still alive, she finally turned around to survey the situation. She saw Jacobs fighting a tall blonde man with a large mustache that curled up at the ends. The man wore red pantaloons and a matching vest with a white shirt that puffed out at the shoulders and wrists. She would have laughed at his ridiculous attire if it wasn't so obvious that Jacobs was losing.

She made a move to help, when sharp crippling pain shot through her from the wound in her stomach. She recovered just in time to see a massive silhouette obscuring her path. As soon as the figure appeared, so too did the black clad fist that had slammed into her gut. Blood and spittle flew from her mouth as it hauled her off feet and launched her across the deck. Before she even realized what had happened another blow smashed into the top of her head, sending her straight to the deck.

"It seems you were too much for Grey." came a deep voice from the silhouette. "To be honest I was hoping I'd get to fight you. Only I wish you were still at your peek Riley "The Steel Fist"."

 **Jacobs vs Alexander Round 2**

Jacobs lunged at Alexander, forcing him to dodge to the side. Alexander retaliated with a slash to Jacobs right thigh. Unlike Alexander, Jacobs was unable to dodge in time. The wound to his leg forced Jacobs to a knee. Alexander took the opportunity and stabbed at him. This time Jacobs brought his sword up to deflect the strike, turning it from lethal to just a glancing wound off his ribs. Jacobs forced himself back into a stance, before going on the offensive. Jacobs swung his sword in a long horizontal sweep, Alexander tried to parry. But this time Jacobs was ready, at the last second he pulled back causing Alexander to lose his footing. Jacobs seized the opportunity and performed a diagonal slash catching Alexander just below his ribs on his left side all the way up to his right shoulder.

With a hiss of pain Alexander lashed out, spearing Jacobs between his ribs on his right side. Almost immediately Jacobs found himself short of breath. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't take more than short gasps.

"You ruined my vest." Alexander sneered before smashing the pommel of his sword into Jacobs' nose. Alexander watched for a moment as Jacobs tried so desperately to breath. "We're done here." Alexander breathed as he raised his sword to plunge it into Jacobs chest.

 **300 meters away**

Garp hefted one of the cannon balls, as he continued to sprint through the air. He was now in range. Garp hurled the ball so hard it broke the sound barrier before colliding with Alexander's ship. The impact shook the ship so violently that the secondary masts broke from their moorings. When the next ball hit, it obliterated the bow of the doomed ship. Fire danced across the still floating remains, providing no sanctuary to Alexander's drowning and dying men.

Grey's ship fared no better. The first cannon ball hit the deck destroying it and baring its innards to the world. The second one hit the ship just below the water line, damning it to the sea's dark depths.

Having spent his payload on the other two ships, Garp made bee-line for King's ship. Garp rammed one side and broke straight through to the other leaving a massive hole through the wounded ship. The force of the impact made it capsize, water poured through the holes as the sea claimed it's prize.

"YOU BASTARD! You destroyed my ship!" Alexander screeched pointing his sword at Garp. "I'LL FUCKING KI-." He didn't get the chance to finish before a massive black clad fist slammed into his face. Alexander rocketed across the deck to slam head long into the cabin wall, his neck twisted at an odd angle.

"Garp." Jacobs wheezed out.

"Jacobs!" Garp shouted as he knelt down next to the dying man.

Jacobs grabbed the Vice Admiral's coat. "Cypher... Pol." Jacobs tried to get out but it was somewhat garbled by the blood and his lack of breath.

"What?" Garp asked concern etching his face.

"Cypher...Pol after... grandson." Jacobs said pleading for him to understand. Garp's face contorted in a mixture of shock and anger. Jacobs smiled "Kill them all." Jacobs said before closing his eye and dropping back to the deck.

 **Riley vs King, moments earlier**

The explosions distracted King long enough for Riley to move. She swept her legs out, taking the big man off his feet. Before he could react, Riley jumped to her feet and slammed a black clad elbow into the man's stomach.

King's hand shot out, he wrapped his hand around her forearm. With her forearm securely locked in his grip, he began to punch her with his other hand. After trying fruitlessly to free her arm, Riley returned fire. They continued to exchange blows until King kneed her in the stomach. He hit her so hard her eyes rolled to the back of her head and the wound in her stomach opened wider.

His giant hand wrapped around her throat and hauled to her feet. She was brought face to face with the large man. King wore his gray hair pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck and most of his face was covered in a great bushy beard and mustache. He wore a crown atop his head, and a long red coat with gold trim and shoulder cuffs.

His eyes held a sinister glee as he wrapped his other hand around her throat. She thrashed, punching and kicking trying desperately to free herself as the black began to creep across her vision.

Riley didn't see what happened but she heard the crack before she dropped to the deck. She felt a strong yet gentle hand pull her to her feet. She groggily opened her eye to see Garp holding her up. With a squeal of glee, she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He returned the hug but quickly pushed her away.

"Grab the baby and get ready to leave." Garp said as he stole a glance at King, who was at that moment pushing himself to his feet. "I'll take care of King."

"I won't leave Jacobs or my men!" Riley objected staring at the carnage. That being said however the only movement on deck was from a few severely wounded pirates, and King.

"Jacobs is dead, and we need to move. Now!" Garp ordered as he practically shoved her towards the cabin. The remaining blood drained from Riley's face, she nodded solemnly and obeyed.

Garp turned to face King "King if you leave right now I won't chase you. But if you insist on fighting, I will kill you now. I don't have the time to bring you in."

King smiled "Why would I run now. This is my chance to become a legend. If I can kill Garp "The Fist", I'll be more infamous than Gold Roger or White Beard." With that King charged him.

Garp shook his head raising his fist to his mouth and blowing on it like he was trying to warm it up. When King was within range, Garp coated his fist in haki and smashed it into King's head. King hit the deck so hard it cratered around him, but Garp wasn't finish. Garp reared back coating foot in haki and kicked him. King rocketed across the deck to partially imbed in the mast. King groaned trying to pull himself from the mast, but before he could move Garp was there. Garp slammed his fist into King's face, then his chest. King freed himself just in time to dodge a third, throwing Garp off balance.

Seizing the opportunity, King threw himself at Garp tackling him to the deck. King mounted Garp, beginning his assault striking at Garp's face and chest. King continued his offensive until a surprise strike from his victim threw him off-base.

Garp seized the opening, removing himself from under King. Garp grabbed King by the chin and pulled him in close. His other hand clasped the top of King's head. With a quick twist and a pop, Garp dropped the limp man to the deck.

He pushed himself to his feet staring at the man. "I gave you an out." Garp turned to see Riley staring at him a holding a bundle protectively in her arm. "We need t-." Before Garp could finish the deck suddenly erupted in an explosion of fire and splinters.

Before Garp could make a move toward Riley, seven black suited men appeared around her. All the men shouted Shigan in unison, and thrust their fingers at her. Four fingers entered her back, two entered her chest, and one pierced the bundle.

With a scream of rage Riley slammed her fist into one of the men's face crushing his skull. Before anyone could act two of them were lifted off their feet and violently slammed together and thrown overboard. The four remaining men attacked with more finger strikes, two aimed at Garp and the others at Riley.

Out of the two aimed at Garp, one pierced his forearm. The second man's attack was stopped abruptly by large hand crushing his throat. The man gurgled and thrashed as the hand constricted, making popping and cracking noises before the man went slack. The second man hopped back to avoid a punch but he wasn't fast enough. The punch hit his chest, obliterating his ribs and sternum killing him instantly.

Riley turned, shielding the bundle, to have both men's finger strikes pierce her mid back. Riley reared back and smashed her elbow into one of the men's faces with a loud crunch. The second man took the opportunity and stabbed her again in the stomach. Riley was about to lash out, when a large man in a black suit appeared in front of her and ripped the bundle from her arms.

"NNNOOOO!" Riley screamed reaching for the bundle, only to receive a boot to the stomach that dropped her.

Benedict holding the bundle in his left hand raised his right and shouting Shigan plunging it toward the bundle. His finger touched the blanket before a hand clamped around his wrist and wrenched it away. Benedict screamed in pain when a fist collided with his elbow snapping it in the opposite direction. The hand that was wrapped around his wrist yanked the bundle from his grasp, the other smacked into his face. Benedict rolled with the punch as much as he could, but it still hit with enough force to send him several meters away.

When Benedict finally came to a stop he looked up to see Garp finishing off the last of the attackers throwing a wicked back hand, the bundle clutched tightly to his chest. A sinister smiled spread across his face, because in that moment he saw something. The infant was bleeding.

Garp knelt down next to Riley, a grim look on his face as he surveyed the damage. She had eight puncture wounds most of them to a vital organ, a massive hole in her stomach, and several broken bones. Riley held out her arms in a "give me" gesture. As Garp handed her the baby, he saw out of the corner of his eye more of the men in black suits appear next to Benedict. Garp turned around and began to walk slowly towards the arriving men.

"Well boys, I think this is our last mission." Benedict said with a half-smile before bringing a small snail out of his pocket and pushing a button on it shell. "Sink it." Benedict ordered.

There was a pause before the snail finally spoke. " Y... yes sir." With that the cannons on the Cypher Pol ship came alive as they fired their artillery at what was left of the marine ship.

"Boys this is going to be our last mission." Benedict announced to the nine men who flanked him. Benedict watched as Garp removed his officers coat and began to unbutton his white jacket. "We're going to make sure Garp goes down with the ship by any means necessary." He looked back at Garp to see him take off his jacket revealing a blue dress shirt and tie.

Garp Loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves. He cracked his knuckles and popped his neck. Without a word, he lunged forward. Before anyone could react, he punched one of the men. The man flew across the deck to hit his back on the railing, snapping him in half.

"Scatter!" Benedict ordered as he and the other men jumped in opposite directions. Unfortunately for one of the men he rushed straight into Garp's awaiting arms. Garp wrapped his arms around the man in a bear hug. The man screamed as most of the bones in his upper body were broken. The others seized this opportunity and stabbed Garp in the back with their fingers. Two used Rankyaku to attack him. However, Garp made no indication that he had felt any of it.

Garp dropped the man he was hugging and disappeared only to reappear behind the rest of the agents. They moved to avoid him, but Garp was faster. Both his arms shot out, one buried itself in the base of an agent's skull snapping his neck. With his other hand Garp grabbed a man by his head, and began to use him as a club. Most of the men were able to dodge, but one wasn't so lucky. Garp swung so hard that his "weapons" neck broke. As for the man that was hit by Garp's makeshift club, he was sent sprawling across the deck. Garp didn't give the downed agent time to recover. Garp raced over to him, and punted the suited man so far he landed in the water nearly a hundred meters away.

"GOD DAMN!" One of the men screamed. "Why is he so god damn strong?"

"He's Garp, a living legend. We had no chance to begin with." Benedict said cradling his broken elbow. "More than anything, he is the reason why this is our last mission."

The other men looked at him, with a nod and grim faces they turned to face Garp once more.

The men shouted Soru, and disappeared only to reappear next to Garp. One caught a heavy fist in his stomach, while the others got off their finger strikes. The one who was punched in the stomach, closed his eyes for good after receiving a savage knee to his face. The others jumped back to avoid Garp's makeshift club.

"I don't have time for this." Garp growled. Garp reared back and hurled his "weapon" at the men. Benedict and another man were able to evade the corpse, but the last one wasn't fast enough. The heads collided with such force that they vaporized on impact.

The cannon balls continued to rake the ship, leaving the combatants surrounded by fire and craters. The ship was quickly sinking, most of it was already below the surface of the water. The doomed vessel wouldn't last much longer. This was it, Benedict and the last remaining agent prepared to make their final stand.

Both men kicked at Garp with Rankyaku only to have Garp dodge out of the way. As soon as his foot hit the deck Garp was off again charging full speed at the two men. Benedict rolled out of the way just in time to avoid Garp. The last man however did not. He was rocked by a savage shoulder that sent him pinballing across the deck. The agent finally came to an abrupt stop at the main mast, a large section of it sticking through his middle.

Benedict rolled to push himself to his feet but Garp was on him. Garp picked him up and slammed a fist into his stomach then threw him back to the deck. Benedict groaned as he tried to lift himself. He didn't make it far before Garp's foot connected with his teeth.

"You made the biggest mistake of your life." Garp said through gritted teeth as he pulled Benedict up holding him off his feet with one hand. "You attacked my family." With that Garp let Benedict go. Before he could hit the deck Garp slammed his fist into Benedict's face obliterating his skull.

Garp was dragged out of his thoughts when the water started to lap at his legs. He spun around trying to find Riley and the baby. He found her curled up at the edge of the cabin. When he reached her side, he found with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. She and the baby weren't moving. Garp reached out and touched them. When neither responded, Garp bowed his head, tears welling in his eyes.

Garp looked up when he heard whimpering. He began to smile when the whimper turned into a wail.

 **30 minutes later. The Ruins**

"Found anything yet?" Bogart asked.

"Sir, we found a coat… Its Garp's" A Marine presented Bogart with a tattered coat.

Bogart slowly took the coat from the soldier. "Ke… Keep searching. There might still be survivors."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece; the characters, world, and story are all property of Eiichiro Oda and Shonen Jump.**

 **4 years later. East Blue, Foosha village**

"Oi! Luffy. What are you doing." One of the pirates asked. The six-year-old was standing on top of the ship's figurehead holding a dagger in his left hand.

"I'm tired of you all making fun of me! I'll prove myself right now!" The boy cried out.

"Yeah! Go for it Luffy." A man with red hair wearing a straw hat cheered.

"What's he doing?" A man with long black hair asked.

"No idea." The man in the straw hat answered.

"Alright I'm doing it!" The boy said positioning the knife under his left eye. With a grunt, he stabbed himself. "GHAAAA!" The boy screamed dropping the knife.

"YOU IDIOT!" The man in the straw hat and the rest of the pirates shouted in unison. He raced forward pulling a cloth out and pressing it to the boy's eye.

 **2 hours later Party's Bar**

Luffy sat on a bar stool whimpering rubbing the new stich work scar under his left eye. Next to him sat the man in the straw hat, his face contorted into an impish grin as he tried desperately not to laugh. This continued for a couple of minutes until the bartender Makino placed a plate piled high with food in front of Luffy. As soon as the plate hit the counter Luffy forgot all about his eye and dug into the pile of food.

The bar erupted in laughter as the pirates watched the boy stuff his face. Not entirely sure why they were laughing, Luffy continued to eat in total contentment. The laughter died out when the door to the bar opened. In the doorway stood a large man with short gray hair with a goatee of the same color. A stitch work scar lead from the corner of his left eye to just below his hair line. He wore a black button up collared shirt with matching pants.

No one said a word as the man made his way to the bar to sit next to Luffy. The man looked at Luffy who seemed completely oblivious to his presence as he continued to eat. A comical tic mark began to grow across the man's forehead, as he watched the boy. With a swift movement, the man punched the top of Luffy's head.

"GYAH." Luffy screamed as he held the spot where the man had hit him. "What was that for?" Luffy asked staring at the man.

"Manners." The man said matter-of-factly. "You're supposed to acknowledge someone when they walk in."

"Oh okay." The boy said before returning to his meal. Another smack to his head took him away from his meal. "Ow! What?"

"What happened to your eye?" The man asked his brows furled together.

"I was proving I was strong enough to join Shanks' crew." The boy announced throwing his thumb over his shoulder to point at the man in the straw hat.

The man looked at the Shanks then back at Luffy. "BWAHAHAHAH." The big man erupted in laughter that was soon followed by the rest of the people in the bar.

"You think I'd let you join my crew, you're just a kid." Shanks said laughter still tracing his voice. "And besides you can't even swim, that's a death sentence out on the sea you know."

"So!" Luffy shouted. "That just means I have to stay on the ship. Anyway, my punches are like pistols, I'll just send them flying before they have a chance to fight back." Luffy said standing on the bar stool punching his fist out.

Both Shanks and the big man looked at each other before once again bursting out in fits of laughter.

"Why are you laughing?!" Luffy screamed.

Suddenly the door to the bar burst open. All eyes went to the door to see several men walk through the door. A man with chin length black hair and a goatee made his way up to the counter.

"My boys and I want two barrels of beer." The man said gesturing to the group who began to spread throughout the bar.

"I'm sorry sir but I am all out at the moment." Makino said with her sweetest fake smile.

The man looked around at the pirates in the bar. "So what are they drinking? Water?" He asked rhetorically followed by murmurs of agreement from his lackeys

"No, they are drinking the last of my stock." Makino said her fake smile still plastered on her face.

"Sorry about the beer, but I have some rum." Shanks said holding out bottle. "I drank a little, but you can have the rest. My treat."

The man took the from Shanks and proceeded to pour the contents on Shanks much to the amusement of his men. After it was empty he smashed the bottle on the counter and dropped it in Shanks' lap.

"Aw. What a waste of good booze." Shanks said as he began to pick up the broken pieces.

"Yeah, you better clean this up." The man said pulling something out of pocket on his long coat. "I'm a wanted man, so you better show me some respect." The man said shoving a wanted poster in Shanks' face.

Shanks took the wanted poster and looked it over. The poster for a man named Higuma with chin length black hair with a goatee and a X shaped scar above H's right eye. Higuma matched his wanted poster to a tee. At the bottom, it said "Dead or Alive Reward: 8million."

"Wow 8million. That's a pretty big amount." Shanks said trying hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"Yeah! It is." Higuma said leaning in close and taking his wanted poster. "And that's why when we return you, "pirates" won't be here." He said spitting the word pirates. "Oh and clean this up." He said pulling out his sword and slicing through a row of liquors behind the counter. With that Higuma and his men filtered out of the bar.

"Man! He really got you good." One of Shanks' guys shouted. The room once again was filled with laughter.

"WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING!" Luffy screamed. "Even if you're afraid because of his bounty you still should've stood up for yourself! No real man would just sit there and take it!"

"Listen Luffy. Not everything can be solved by fighting." Shanks counselled. "What would have happened to you or Ms. Makino if we had started a fight."

"Oi! What about me?" The big man asked with a smile.

Shanks looked at him with a deadpan expression. "I'm pretty sure you can take care of yourself self Garp."

Garp gave another "BWAHAHA" before turning around to a plate Makino had just place in front of him.

Just like Luffy's, the plate looked like it was meant to serve several people.

"Well anyways." Shanks said trying to ignore Garp. "What I mean to say that your actions can affect the ones around you."

Shanks looked over to see Luffy had a dumbfounded expression on his face. Shanks sighed shaking his head. "Just, eat your food."

"Yosh!" Luffy exclaimed digging into his food with renewed vigor. All pretense of what had just happened totally forgotten. Shanks and his men watched them eat for several minutes with both a mix of astonishment and revulsion.

When Luffy finally finished (after licking his plate clean) he looked across the bar past Shanks. Sitting on the counter behind Shanks was a treasure chest. Luffy stole a look at the red-haired pirate. He had his back to the boy as he was currently deep in conversation with a fat crew member named Lucky Roo.

With an impish smile thinking he would take the contents as a prank. Luffy reached a across and grabbed the chest. For some reason the chest seemed really light for treasure.

When Luffy opened the box, he found a really strange looking fruit. It kind of looked like a mango but it was purple and covered in swirl design. The longer Luffy stared at the fruit the hungrier he got. Luffy took the fruit, and was about to eat it when it was snatched from his hands.

"Hey!" The six-year-old cried. "I was going to eat that." Luffy said trying to grab it back from Garp's hand.

"Not if you ever want to swim again." Garp explained holding the fruit high above his head.

"What's goi-. Aah!." Shanks said as he stood up. Garp handed him the fruit. Shanks gave him a questioning look.

"Luffy was about to eat it." Garp explained.

Shanks looked at Luffy. "Well thank god you didn't. Do you know what would have happened if you had eaten it?" Shanks asked.

Luffy shook his head in the negative.

"Well I guess the best place to start is at the beginning." Shanks said scratching the stubble on his chin. "Have you ever heard of The Devil Fruits?"

Once again Luffy shook his head looking just as confused as ever.

Shanks nodded his head. "Devil Fruits are magical fruits that give the eaters untold powers." Shanks began. "Those who eat them however, are said to be cursed by the sea."

Luffy, if possible looked even more confused.

Shanks sighed. "It means that if you eat one you can never swim again. You'll be like a hammer unable to move. For Devil Fruit users falling into the sea is a death sentence."

"Whoa!" Luffy shouted excitedly.

Shanks smiled his own excitement rising. "Take this fruit for example." Shanks said presenting the weird mango. "This is the Gomu Gomu no Mi, meaning rubber. Anyone who eats this fruit becomes a rubber man." Shanks said trying to stretch his cheeks for dramatic effect. " There are thousands of fruits out there each with different powers."

Luffy's smile stretched from ear to ear, and he was practically bouncing out his seat.

"If you're really interested, I have something for." Shanks said looking back to the fat crew member. The fat man pulled out a book and handed it to Luffy.

"A book?" Luffy asked disappointment clear on his face.

Shanks chuckled to himself. "Yes. It's a book on Devil Fruits." Shanks explained. "That how we found out what fruit this is." Shanks looked at Luffy to see his eyebrows stitched together in thought. "If you don't want it I'll take it back."

"No. I'll keep it." Luffy said getting up off the stool. He opened the book and began to read as he left the bar. " Cool, pictures!" Luffy said eliciting laughs from the pirates.

Once the laughter had died down Garp looked at Shanks. "So have you gone to see her yet?"

Shanks shook his head. "Not yet. I was planning on it later tonight." Shanks smiled and looked back at the door Luffy had just left through. "God he reminds me of her."

Garp smiled and nodded in agreement. "I just wish he'd got the chance to meet her." Garp said his face downcast.

"Dammit Garp stop it." Shanks said with a shake of his head. "It wasn't your fault. You tried your best to save her." He said trying to console Garp. "And besides if it weren't for you Luffy wouldn't be here."

Garp begrudgingly agreed. "If only my son wasn't so head strong and settled down none of this would have happened."

Shanks just looked at him with a deadpan expression. "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black." Shanks paused for a moment before asking. "How's Ace doing?"

"There's a lot of anger in that boy. He's been hurting people." Garp sighed before shoveling another spoonful into his mouth. "You shhould go shee him too." He said through his food.

Shanks sigh "No, I don't think that's a good idea. The last time we spoke he said he wanted nothing to do with his father's legacy." Shanks chuckled. "Even me. I didn't think anyone could resist my charming personality."

Garp gave him another famous "BWAHAHA" before standing up to follow Luffy. "Thanks for the food Makino, just put it on our tab."

Makino smiled. " Alright, but your already at 700k."

Garp winced when he heard the number. He thought it over for a moment and decided that was about right. "Alright I'll pay you on Friday." He said before turning his attention back to Shanks. "And you. Go see her, I think she'd like that." He started at Shanks until the red head nodded. Once satisfied he turned and left the bar.

 **2 Days Later, Party's Bar**

"So you're leaving soon?" Makino asked as she took the plate Luffy had just cleared.

"Yeah. Grandpa says were gonna go on a training trip." Luffy answered before downing his juice.

"Well I wish yo-." Before she finished the doors to the bar burst open, and in walked Higuma followed by several drably dressed men carrying assorted weaponry. As Higuma made his way to the bar, his men took up seats throughout the bar. Higuma took a seat on a stool two away from Luffy's, all the while ignoring the glare from the child.

"May I help you?" Makino asked with her fake smile plastered well in place.

"Your stock better be in order. My boys and I are mighty thirsty." Higuma smiled his thinly veiled threat only serving to anger Luffy even more.

"Yes, I was restocked this morning. Let me go get a couple of barrel from the back." Makino flashed an uneasy glance at Luffy. "Hey Luffy could you give me a hand?" She asked making her way through the back door.

"Alright." Luffy hopped of his stool to follow, but he stopped in his tracks when he heard Higuma's offhand remark about Shanks' crew.

"I Saw those pussies loading up their ship." Higuma smiled when he saw Luffy tense up.

"Heh, surprised it took em this long." One of the men chimed in. "Figured they'd be long gone." He let out a cackle before finishing. "With their tails wedged so far between their legs, their fuckin themselves in the ass with it."

Laughter engulfed the room until a loud crack brought it to a quick end. Everybody looked over to see the boy standing over a very unconscious bandit. The bandits were stunned, their gazes transfixed on the boy as he shook with rage.

This continued until Higuma rally his men to action. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR! KILL THE LITTLE SHIT!"

With that the men sprang to action. The first man to reach Luffy brandished a mace. He swung at Luffy only to have the boy dodge back out of the way. Luffy quickly responded by lunging at the man, the top of his head colliding with the man's jaw. This caused the man to bite straight through his tongue. The man collapsed backwards, his hands clamped over his mouth as blood shot out of were the appendage used to hang.

The next man wielded a cutlass, and his swing was more fruitful. The tip of the blade dug a long diagonal line across the boy's back. Luffy screamed in pain, but promptly regained his composure. The man began to celebrate prematurely as he was tackled to the ground by the boy. Luffy quickly scrambled on top of the man. Once in position Luffy proceeded to lay into the man. The boy's assault continued until a club about half the size of him collided with his midsection. This sent Luffy rolling off the poor unconscious man with a grunt of pain.

Unlike the other man this one seized his opportunity, getting three more good cracks before Luffy could recover. However, Luffy was able to dodge the fourth strike, getting in close enough to punch the man in the solar plexus. The man gasped dropping his club and wrapping his arms around his stomach. He took three shaky steps forward before collapsing.

Luffy not waiting to be attacked again, sprang forward surprising one of the men by grabbing him by his shirt. Luffy headbutt him braking his nose and causing the man to buckle. Luffy reared back to punch him, but a scream tore his attention away. He looked up just in time to see Higuma hauling Makino over the counter by her hair.

Luffy made to rush him but stopped when Higuma put his sword to her neck. "That's enough. One more move and I slit her throat."

Luffy froze fist still clenched, glaring down the man. Makino took in a sharp breath as a light trail of blood trickled down her throat. Luffy immediately dropped his aggressive stance, conceding his surrender.

With a nod from Higuma, the men were on top of him; punching, kicking, and beating the boy with chains and clubs. The beating didn't subside until the man who had bitten through his tongue, presented a knife.

"Luffy!" Makino cried, hot tears stinging her face as she struggled against Higuma.

He was about to stab the boy, when Higuma stopped him. "Wait, wait, wait. I have a better idea." Higuma threw Makino to the floor, making his way over to Luffy. "Chain im up were gonna make an example of im."

Makino pushed herself to her feet and sprinted to the door in an attempt to block their exit. She however, was booted out of the way by Higuma as he hauled a half conscious Luffy out of the bar.

 **5 minutes later. Mayor's office.**

The door burst open to reveal a petite woman with long green hair, wearing an orange and black sun dress and an apron that said Party's Bar. Dirt and mud caked her dress, her eyes were wild and frantic.

"Mayor Woodslap!" The woman cried. "Luffy's in trouble!"

"Slow down Makino." Woodslap counselled. "Tell me what's wrong."

"No time!" Makino said as she grabbed his arm and practically hauled him over his desk. She half pulled half dragged him out to the village square.

They arrived just in time to see Luffy tied to a sign post and Higuma torturing the boy. He was slowly dig the point of a dagger into the boy's shoulder. Luffy groaned as thrashed against his bindings trying to free himself.

"What's going on here?!" Woodslap demanded with a shaking voice.

Higuma looked over at the two new arrivals. " This kid picked a fight with us." Higuma said punching Luffy stomach. "So now we have to make an example of im."

"Please we'll pay anything you want just don't hurt the boy anymore!" Woodslap pleaded.

"No can-do pops." Higuma said with a wicked grin. "You see this is our territory now and we can't have nobody thinking they can stand up to us." Higuma announced giving Luffy another hard punch.

"What's all this?" Came a voice from behind Makino and Woodslap. When everyone turned to see who, it was they saw Shanks and his men standing there. "What's wrong Luffy I thought your punches were like pistols."

"Shut up." Luffy groaned.

"Oh look it's the would-be pirates." Higuma said with a nod to one of his men. "I think you should leave before you get hurt." Higuma said gesturing to one of his men who held a pistol to Shanks' head.

"You know pistols aren't for making threats." Shanks said coolly. With that the fat crew member shot the bandit in the head. "Beckman, take care of them." Shanks said in a nonchalant manner.

With a nod a tall man with jet black hair pulled into a ponytail took a step forward. Beckman pulled a long rifle from his belt and holding it by the barrel began to beat the bandits with it. The fight only lasted a minute, but once the dust had settled the only one standing was Beckman.

"Now give us Luffy and..." Shanks stopped talking when he looked around to see that Higuma and Luffy weren't among the rest of the bandits. "Where's Luffy?"

 **A boat 100 meter offshore**

"Stop struggling." Higuma ordered fighting the tied-up boy. Luffy continued to struggle until Higuma could no longer hold him. "Fine." Higuma said throwing Luffy into the sea. "Hope you Drown ya little shit."

Luffy jerked and kicked trying desperately to keep his head above water. He glared at Higuma when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was a giant serpent like creature on a collision course with Higuma's tiny boat. Higuma didn't even have time to scream before he along with the boat were swallowed whole. Once done with Higuma the serpent turned to Luffy and lunged at him.

Luffy not able to do anything closed his eyes and awaited his death. Luffy felt the splashing of the water around him as a strong arm wrapped around him. Luffy opened his eyes to see Shanks holding him above the water.

Shanks glared at the serpent before uttering in a low voice _**"Get lost."**_ For a second Luffy swore he saw fear flash through the serpent's eyes before it fled at its top speed.

Luffy turned to Shanks a smile slowly forming, but it immediately faltered when he noticed something was off. Luffy eyes shot to Shanks left arm. The bloody and tattered sleeve floated limply in the waves. Luffy buried his face in Shanks' chest and began to cry.

Shanks looked down when he heard the sobs. "Hey, hey, hey." Shanks said with in a soft voice. "Come on. Real men don't cry."

"But Shanks. Your arm, your arm!" Luffy choked out through sobs.

Shanks smiled "It's nothing, it's just an arm. As long as your alive it doesn't matter." Shanks said holding the still crying boy to his chest.

 **Later that Day. Foosha village docks**.

"You're really leaving this time?" Luffy asked with his usual goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Yeah, we've stayed here long enough it's about time to move on." Shanks answered returning the smile.

"Well I just came to say goodbye. I'm not going to make you take me with you." Luffy said puffing out his chest. "I'm going to be a pirate all by myself."

"I wouldn't bring you along even if you begged me." Shanks said sticking out his tongue. "And besides you don't have what it takes to be a real pirate."

"Yes I do!" Luffy shouted. "One day I'll have a crew that's stronger than yours! We'll travel the world and find the greatest treasure!" Luffy took a deep breath and shouted. "And I'll become The Pirate King!"

"The Pirate King eh?" Shanks said with a smile as he pulled his hat off. "Then this hat is gift for you." Shanks said placing the hat on Luffy's head. "This is my favorite hat, it used to belong to my former captain. So when you become a great pirate you'll return it to me." Shanks said before boarding his ship.

The ship departed soon after leaving Luffy standing on the pier and waving until the ship was out of sight. He only tore his eyes away when he heard footsteps behind him.

"So Red Hair 's gone?" Garp asked.

Luffy nodded looking back out at the sea. A large hand rested on top of his head in a somewhat comforting gesture. They stood in silence for several minutes until Garp mentioned food. Once again Luffy's stomach won out and they left to find something to eat.

 **Onboard The Red Force**

"That kids going to be dangerous." Beckman said lighting a cigarette. He took a quick drag before speaking again. "Why'd ya give em the hat?"

Shanks was quiet for a moment. "Because he reminds me of him."

Beckman nodded taking another drag on the cigarette. "So I've waited long enough." He said a mischievous smile spreading across his face. "Why didn't you use haki to protect your arm?"

"I um, uh mmhh. Oh look what's that?" Shanks pointed in one direction then bolted in the opposite.

Beckman just shook his head and laugh. "You can't hide forever I live here too."


End file.
